This weekend Kasabian, Arcade Fire, Dolly Parton and Metallica are among the acts heading into Glastonbury history and preparing to rock the iconic Pyramid Stage. But will 2014 still be considered a vintage year for the festival in 20 years' time?

Will it possibly match up to the 1994 festival, which had a second stage that was filled with a 'who's who' of groups about to explode and dominate the next decade? There were also a few people you might have heard of on the Pyramid Stage. Johnny Cash, anyone? Here are 9 acts who rocked the event in 1994...

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

1. Oasis

Oasis have headlined Glastonbury twice since, but neither performance could capture the laid-back swagger of their 1994 debut when Liam strutted onto the stage in a dreadful sweater and sang with a voice that was yet to feel the impact of too much booze and fags.

They were still a year away from becoming the country's biggest rock band, but with a killer eight-song set ('Shakermaker', 'Fade Away', 'Digsy's Dinner', 'Live Forever', 'Bring It on Down', 'Cigarettes & Alcohol', 'Supersonic', 'I Am the Walrus') there should have been no doubt as to where they were heading.

2. Johnny Cash

"Some of the youngsters thought I'd gone crazy, as they believed I should be booking new stuff all the time. They thought he was just a daft old country singer." Michael Eavis's bold move to call Johnny Cash in 1994 was a classic piece of Glastonbury booking that seems totally logical and brilliant in hindsight, but at the time was considered rather odd.

His career renaissance with Rick Rubin's American Recordings was just around the corner, but Cash always stated that the reception he got from the Glastonbury crowd in 1994 was a career highlight. It ranks among the greatest Glastonbury performances of all time, but usually gets forgotten among more fashionable contemporary headliners.

3. Manic Street Preachers

The Manics, like Oasis, have something of a mixed relationship with the festival. It all stems back to their 1994 debut when they were still a white-hot, angry, young rock band who were masters at getting people's backs up and generally causing a stir.

However, amid all Nicky Wire's references to the site being a "s**t hole" that needed a bypass built over it, they also delivered a set that was thunderous and provocative, from the pumped-up opener 'Faster' to the snarling finish of 'You Love Us'.

4. Blur

After releasing Parklife in the same year, Damon Albarn was slowly becoming a Smash Hits pin-up and achieving Blur's dream of becoming the UK's biggest pop act. This summer set at Glastonbury was very much the juicy cherry on the delicious pie for the soon-to-be Britpop icons.

Mixing up the best of the new record and Modern Life Is Rubbish, the band were still on the right side of the 'things going a bit mental' pop scale, and were in their prime as a live act. Damon's hair was also at its peak. You just want to give it a good ruffle.

5. Beastie Boys

One of those acts who many used to claim would be ideal for Glastonbury had actually already played the event way back in 1994. The Beastie Boys might never have been quite as incredible live as they should have been, but in 1994 the Boys still had enough of their early bad attitude and energy to totally boss the second stage.

Oh yeah. And they did play 'Sabotage'. And oh yeah. It was ace.

6. Rage Against The Machine

Anyone baffled by Metallica's booking for the Pyramid Stage in 2014 probably shouldn't be. In 1994, fellow monster heavy-rockers Rage Against The Machine brought their unique brand of political bite and bludgeoning guitars to Pilton and proved that Glastonbury can do serious guitar-chugging as well as anyone.

Reading Festival whatnow?

7. Radiohead

With the possible exceptions of David Bowie and Coldplay, no other act is probably quite so closely attached to the history of Glastonbury as Radiohead. Their performance in the mud in 1997 is generally considered to one of the festival's greatest of all time, and the group's ability to capture the attention of the masses without ever becoming part of the establishment chimes with the ethos of the event.

In 1994, the group still hadn't released a truly great record, but it was their first time at the festival and it hinted at what was to come from Thom and the boys.

8. M People

There was a huge debate when Kylie was a planned headliner in 2005, but Glastonbury has never been purely about guitars and dance music. There's always been room for some pop guilty pleasures. 1994 was no different when Heather Small and M People sat on a second stage bill alongside Spiritualized, Tool and Radiohead. The next time someone says their musical taste is eclectic, suggest that foursome.

9. James

Most of the excitement in 1994 came from the Second Stage where bands were ready to burst into the charts as superstars. On the main stage there were old hands (Peter Gabriel. Paul Weller) and oddities (Jah Wobble, The Spin Doctors), but one band who were at the peak of the powers were baggy pop legends James.

They might not be considered the coolest band of the '90s, but looking at the size of the crowd that greeted their Pyramid Stage set, who really cares.